


Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

by owlmoose



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age II
Genre: Female Characters, Female Friendship, Frenemies, Gen, Spoilers, women in authority
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-14
Updated: 2012-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-01 22:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/362071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmoose/pseuds/owlmoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a major upheaval in Kirkwall, Aveline is looking for someone to blame, and Isabela makes a convenient target. Major spoilers for Dragon Age 2, the end of Act Two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Women of Dragon Age challenge.

"What a mess." Aveline stood on the mezzanine of the Keep, looking first at the damaged carpet of the foyer, then toward what remained of the Viscount's office. The Qunari's invasion of the Keep had not been gentle by any definition, but the damage suggested that their wrenching of Dumar from his hiding place had been particularly vicious: doors ripped off hinges, railings smashed into splinters, papers and furniture scattered everywhere, and stairway left in ruins. "Getting all this back in order will take weeks, and with no Viscount to order the repairs..."

She sighed, and turned to look at Donnic, who propped himself on one of the remaining rails. He was out of uniform in deference to the bandages that wrapped his cracked ribs, and his face was pale with the effort of standing. "Speaking of repairs. I thought the medic told you to rest."

He smiled at her. "Does this look like work to you?"

"It doesn't look like resting," she retorted. "Captain's orders. Come on." She transferred his arm from the rail to around her waist and helped him down the stairwell toward the infirmary; he leaned on her with a heaviness that belied his earlier words, the ease of his smile. But then, at the entrance to the barracks, she stopped dead at the sight of Brennan and a prisoner, hands behind her back, turning around to look at her with a half-grin: Isabela.

"Said she's here to turn herself in," said Brennan, jerking her chin toward Isabela. "But she'll only surrender to you."

Aveline looked at Donnic, who pulled away from her with a nod. "To the infirmary, aye Captain. Brennan, walk me there?"

The other guard looked at Isabela, then Aveline, then shrugged and took Donnic by the arm, leading him away, leaving her alone with the miscreant. For a moment they stared at each other, and then Isabela lifted her shoulder in a shrug.

"I'm here for that ass-kicking you promised," she said. "Although it looks like Donnic already took one."

"He'll be all right." Aveline glanced down the hall and knew she spoke mainly to convince herself. "Others were hurt far worse."

Isabela winced. "Hawke," she muttered. "I know. How is she?"

"Alive." It was the most she trusted herself to say; she didn't want to remember that fight or its aftermath: Hawke's pale face, her own blood on her hands as she forced herself to stand and receive Meredith's accolades, hoping that no one would notice her weakness. When the Arishok had impaled her on that giant sword, Aveline had been so sure it was all over, but somehow, impossibly, Hawke had wriggled herself down the blade to slash his throat open. He had fallen, and then Hawke had nearly followed him. If Anders hadn't been the first to her side... 

No, Aveline didn't want to talk to Isabela about Hawke. But Isabela looked so worried that she swallowed down her fears, her anger, and forced herself to continue. "Anders thinks she'll make a full recovery, if she takes it easy for awhile. I'm sure he'll see that she does."

"He may try," Isabela countered. "But this is Hawke we're talking about. Might be easier said than done."

"True enough." Aveline crossed her arms and rocked back on her heels. "All right. The truth, now. What are you doing here?"

Isabela shrugged. "I told you. Turning myself in. You promised me a beating, and I figured I might as well get it over with."

"Did you." Aveline considered her prisoner for a few moments longer before deciding on her course of action. "All right then, your punishment." And before Isabela could react, Aveline had stepped behind her, grabbed both arms, and pulled them behind her back before clapping them in the irons she had retrieved from the wall. "You'll be my guest for a little while."

Seeing the expression of astonishment on Isabela's face was almost-- almost-- worth the trouble she had put everyone through. "But-- what-- you can't--" she sputtered.

Aveline held up her index finger, and Isabela fell silent. "Theft, of course. And piracy, and concealing stolen property. That's a separate charge from theft, as I'm sure you know." She lifted her other fingers in turn, ticking off Isabela's crimes, a small satisfied smile on her face. "Accessory to public mayhem, that's the closest one I've got to 'starting a war'. Good thing for you Hawke's going to make it. Otherwise I might have charged you with her murder, too. But I have more than enough without that." She took Isabela's restrained hands and turned her in the direction of the stairs that lead down to the Keep's dungeon. "I suppose it's been awhile since you've seen the inside of a cell, but I'm sure you'll have a grand time getting reacquainted."

Isabela squirmed in Aveline's grasp, to no avail, defiant attitude returning as she struggled. "Ooh, the big girl likes it rough."

It was all Aveline could do not to whirl Isabela around and punch her in the face. "Shut up, _whore_ ," she snapped, practically spitting the last word in her anger. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? How many good people have died because of you? The Viscount, for one, and about a dozen nobles, and three of my guard, several templars and mages, the elves who came to the Qunari's aid, never mind all the civilians who got caught in the crossfire. The death toll might be in the hundreds."

Isabela tossed her head. "You can't blame me for everything. Mother Petrice and the Arishok--"

"The Arishok wouldn't even have been here if he hadn't needed to recover his precious book," Aveline interrupted. "The book you stole, and that you conspired to hide from him." She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then continued. "Your innocent act won't wash this time, pirate. Let's go." And without giving Isabela a chance to get another word in, Aveline marched Isabela forward, down the stairs and into the dungeon.

-x-

The next week was spent in cleanup: beginning major repairs, gathering the dead, the general restoration of order. Aveline was busy from dawn until dusk dealing with looters, slavers, and others attempting to take advantage of the chaos. Between times, she checked in with Donnic and with Hawke. Donnic was up and around within two days and back on duty after five; Hawke progressed more slowly, but soon enough she was sitting up, chatting, receiving visitors. Anders, who seemed to never leave her side, claimed to be encouraged by her progress, but the circles under his eyes suggested more worry than he was willing to let on. She also met with Seneschal Bran regularly and, once, at the end of the week, with Knight-Commander Meredith, who looked far too comfortable sitting at the Viscount's desk. Once Aveline had finished going over the events of the past several days -- criminals rounded up, death tolls taken, property recovered -- she stood up and walked to the window, hands behind her back.

"I appreciate your efforts to restore and maintain order, Guard-Captain. I understand that the late Viscount was quite taken with your leadership."

Aveline inclined her head to the side. There's something that would have been nice to have heard from the Viscount in life. "I do my job, Knight-Commander, and if I may be so bold as to say so, I do it well. Viscount Dumar trusted me to manage the guard and see to the safety of this city, and I did my best to repay his trust."

"Then I see no reason to make any change, as long as you keep to that trust." Meredith turned slightly to face Aveline. "And, of course, as long as you ensure that any dangerous apostates are reported to the templars, for us to deal with."

There was an edge to her words that Aveline did not like, at all. "I'm not sure I take your meaning, Knight-Commander."

Meredith raised an eyebrow, her steely blue eyes turned straight on Aveline. "I think you do. I will not brook any threats to this city, and neither should you. If I were to find that you were hiding one from me, I would not take it kindly. Is that clear enough?"

It was. Hawke's mage and criminal companions would be tolerated, but only as long as they posed no active threat. The moment that changed... Aveline felt her face freezing into a polite blank smile. "Yes, ser."

"Good." Meredith leaned back against the window. "And now, for what I hope is a more pleasant topic: how is the Champion? I've had no word from her since the battle with the Arishok."

"I saw her earlier today," Aveline replied. "She seems well on the road to recovery, but she still tires easily. I would not expect to see her return to society for some time."

"Does she require assistance?" Meredith gestured toward the Gallows, visible through the windows. "A healer, perhaps?" 

It was another attempt to glean information about Hawke's relationship with Anders, even more transparent than the last, and Aveline felt a surge of resentment. How dare Meredith make such bold use of Hawke's injuries, incurred in the process of defeating an enemy that she and all her Templars hadn't been able to touch? But Aveline bit her tongue; there was no profit in antagonizing the Knight-Commander. Instead, she just shook her head. "She has it under control, as best as I can tell. But perhaps if you allowed her sister to visit? If I recall, Bethany Hawke has some healing skill, and I'm sure it would do wonders for her morale."

Meredith's eyes narrowed, and it seemed as though their blue fire brightened, just a little. "I will take it under consideration," she replied, in a tone that meant "No." She stood up straight again and rested her hands on the back of the Viscount's chair. "Is there anything else, Guard-Captain?"

Aveline thought about Isabela, alone in her cell, the one whom many would fairly blame for this entire situation, up to and including Knight-Commander Meredith's presence in this office. In the absence of a Viscount, it ought to fall to Meredith to decide her fate, but too many threats had already been made in this room. Isabela bore a large share of responsibility for these events, but she didn't deserve to hang for them. With only the slightest pause, Aveline shook her head. "That's all."

"Very well. If no emergencies arise, I'll see you at the same time next week. Dismissed."

"Commander." Aveline stood and saluted Meredith, then left, questions of justice and who her friends really were rattling in her head.

-x-

Aveline let her prisoner cool her heels for another three days before making a visit. When she finally made her way to the dungeon, she found Isabela sitting on the bench in the back of her cell, knees drawn up to her chest. She cleared her throat, and Isabela glanced up, then looked away.

"About time you showed up," she grumbled. "Your conscience couldn't take the thought of me rotting away in here?"

Aveline crossed her arms with a snort. "You've been well cared for. I know, because I set Brennan to make sure you were fed and unmolested."

Isabela scowled, then looked at Aveline with a reluctant nod. "I suppose I can't complain. Much. It's still prison, though."

"That was the point," Aveline replied with a shrug. "But it's a damn sight better than what the Qunari would have done to you."

Isabela lowered her chin for a moment, then jumped to her feet and walked to the cell door. "I can't really argue with that." She cocked her head to the side. "Why wouldn't you let them take me?"

"The same reason I haven't handed you over to Knight-Commander Meredith: their punishment wouldn't have fit your crime. " Aveline shook her head, then met Isabela's eyes. "Which is also why I didn't take you up on the offer of an ass-kicking. It would have been over too fast, and then you've have gone on your merry way. I wanted to make you stop for awhile. Sit and think."

"If that was your plan, it worked. I haven't had the opportunity to do much else." Isabela cocked her head to the side, widened her eyes. "So. What are you going to do with me?"

Aveline spread her arms. "You've had more time to consider that question than I. What do you think I'm going to do?"

Isabela tapped her foot and looked at the floor again. "Banishment," she said, quietly. "I caused this city too much trouble, in your eyes. I shouldn't be allowed to stay and whip up any more."

"Got it in one," Aveline said. "Not forever, though. Just a few years. Take some time away, clear your past associations, let the trail Castillon's been following go cold."

"Keep it from leading straight back to Hawke, you mean," Isabela retorted, a bit of the snap coming back into her eyes.

Aveline shrugged. "That, too." She wondered if Isabela saw that it was for her own good, as well. Who knew when someone ruined by the Qunari attack might attempt a less gentle type of justice? "All right, I've passed my sentence, and you're free to go." She unlocked the cell door and tossed it open. Isabela brushed past Aveline and took several brisk steps down the hall; then Aveline called out to her, and she paused. "Not quite free," Aveline said. "Go see Hawke first. She's been asking after you."

Isabela looked over her shoulder at Aveline, then away, pushing at the ground with her toe. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"Consider it part of your rehabilitation." Aveline found a slow smile spreading across her lips. "Consequences of your actions, and all that."

"Fine." Isabela sighed heavily, but from her face Aveline could tell that she didn't mind all that much. "Thanks, Aveline. See you in a few years." And she left, taking the stairs two at a time; Aveline locked the cell door behind her and let the key fall back into place on its ring.


End file.
